Category Archives: Nutrition

Book review. Prediabetes: A complete Guide, by Joy Bauer, MS, RDN. If you’re well over 55, even if you’ve mostly eaten relatively healthy during your life, your body may try to double-cross you in the area of insulin resistance – which is the cause of Type II diabetes. Even people who have long eaten lots of veggies and tried to avoid empty carbs and added sugars may become susceptible to this physiological change. The thing is, diabetes is a brutal disease that affects every part of your life and can ravage your body. And worse yet, it’s very hard to keep in check. But there’s hope if you’re not there yet.

if you and your doctor watch your sugar, you may catch this bodily rebellion early – in what’s known as the “prediabetes” stage. This is a time when your body is warning you of impending problems that can easily lead to the full-blown disease condition. But it’s also a time when you can change the course of your “golden” years. This book, written by a nurse who’s also a registered dietitian, is like a map you can follow that’ll lead to the better health that can reverse the rising-blood-sugar situation and keep you from having to live forever with the much-feared-and-for-good-reason Type II Diabetes demon.

There are recipes in the book, but more than that, it’s a guide for changing the way you buy, prepare and consume food. She gives you small steps to take first – because you do have a little time before prediabetes goes over the edge to a permanent state – that will start getting you used to eating food with less sodium and fat yet more nutrition. And then she gives additional ways to ramp up the nutrition and dial back the bad stuff without feeling like you’re suffering. So when you start changing things like cheese dip to quacamole, onion dip to hummus, and bagels to English muffins or bagel thins, you won’t be in so much confusion about what’s good for you. This is a good guide as to what changes you need to make. Diabetes is nasty. Read this book carefully and learn to protect yourself.